3 Tips for Climbing the Old Bridge (Stari Most) in Mostar

The main attraction in Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina is definitely the Old Bridge, also known as Stari Most.

Built in 1566 by the Ottomons, the bridge stood for 427 years until it was destroyed on 9 November 1993 during the Bosnian War. However through efforts by UNESCO, the bridge was rebuilt and reopened on 23 July 2004 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

If you're visiting Mostar, read these 3 tips to have the best experience of climbing Stari Most.

Tip #1: Wear a good pair of walking shoes

Two factors make the bridge one of the most difficult to climb:

a) Its incredibly smooth and slippery steps; and

b) Its sharp arch.

Here, take a look at how steep the bridge is from a bottom angle:

Photo was taken when the sun was setting, thus the golden colours on the right side of the photo.

I made the mistake of walking on Stari Most in my flip flops and regretted it tremendously, thus this blog entry to ensure you don't make the same mistake as I did.

Another reason to wear a good pair of walking shoes is because the area surrounding the Old Bridge are builit on cobbled stones like this:

Therefore having a good pair of walking shoes is important to ensure you don't slip and fall. I personally prefer sneakers.

Tip #2: Use the ledges as footholds and hold onto the hand rails

There's a high possibility many would have slipped while walking on the bridge, so they built ledges on the bridge and installed hand rails on both sides of it.

Use the ledges as footholds and to break your fall. Also hold onto the hand rails and slowly make your way up and down the bridge.

At peak times when there're many people holding the hand rails and going up and down the bridge in both directions, I had to let go of the hand rails to allow others to pass. I had to be extra careful that I don't slip and fall when I let go, which leads to the third tip:

Top #3: Go early in the morning before the crowd arrives

Being the top attraction in Mostar, you can exprect many tourist on the bridge. 

To avoid the crowds, go early in the morning and there's a high possibility you'll have the whole bridge to yourself. Definitely worth sacrificing your beauty sleep for if you want to take photos without anyone photo bombing it.

5 Reasons Why You Must Visit Mostar

I used to hear alot about Bosnia & Herzegovina in the news when I was a teenager growing up in the 90s, but I was too young at that time to understand about the Bosnian War.

When I visited the Balkans last year, I decided to make a stop at Mostar, a city in Bosnia & Herzegovina because of my memories of the 90s and mainly because I wanted to visit Medjugorje which you can read about here.

I did not have any expectations before visiting Mostar but the city certainly left me charmed.

Here are the reasons why you must visit Mostar.

Reason #1: The Old Bridge a.k.a. Stari Most is gorgeous

The gem of Mostar is definitely The Old Bridge or Stari Most as the locals call it.

Built in 1566 by the Ottomons, the bridge stood for 427 years until it was destroyed on 9 November 1993 during the Bosnian War. However through efforts by UNESCO, the bridge was rebuilt and opened on 23 July 2004 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I love this paragraph from the UNESCO World Heritage Site website that describes the Old Bridge area so beautifully:

The Old Bridge Area, with its pre-Ottomon, Eastern Ottomon, Mediterranean and Western European archtectural features, is an outstanding example of multicultural urban settlement. The reconstructed Old Bridge and Old City of Mostar are symbols of reconciliation, international cooperation and the coexistence of diverse, cultural, ethnic and religious communities.

I snapped this photo with my mobile phone and sent it to a friend. She asked me which website did I take it from. Initially I was annoyed but in the end I considered it as a compliment on my photography skills :-)

Reason #2: The seige of Mostar and the Bosnian War

The modern history of Bosnia & Herzegovina is a sad one because of the seige of Mostar that was fought during the Bosnian War that took place between 1992 and 1995.

If you look carefully, some of the buildings in the Old Bridge Area have bullet holes in its walls. Sorry I didn't take any photos of the bullet riddled buildings, but I did take this photo of a Muslim graveyard that I stumbled upon while walking from the bus station to Hostel Nina:

From the year of death written on the graves, I gather that they must have died in the Bosnian War that took place from 1992 till 1995.

I converted the photo to black & white because I thought it's appropriate for the sombre mood.

The Bosnian War lead to the breakup of Yugoslavia into 6 republics, i.e. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. 

In the Old Bridge area there are tour agencies which organises tours on the breakup of Yugoslavia:

Too bad I didn't have enough time, otherwise I would have signed up for the tour.

If you like history, especially war history, Mostar would be a place right up your alley.

The capital city of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Sarajevo is another city to visit if you like war history. I missed it this round and regretted it after a group of Italian travellers whom I met in Mostar told me that I should not have missed Sarajevo.


Reason #3: Beautiful Neretva River

The Old City in Mostar and the Stari Most is situated along the Neretva River. The charming river is like an artery that runs through Mostar, pumping life into it.

A charming river should be complemented with equally charming houses along its banks and the houses in Mostar certainly lived up to this expectation. Here, take a look at the houses along the Neretva River:

So peaceful.

I love the turquoise coloured waters of the Neretva River:

Reason #4: Prices in Mostar are relatively cheaper 

If you're coming into Mostar from other parts of the Balkans, you would notice that the price of things are relatively cheaper in Mostar. Shops and eateries accept the Euro or Bosnian Mark (BAM).

To give you an idea of prices in Mostar, here are the prices of food that I had in that lovely little town:

 Grilled chicken, salad, fries and one glass house wine (not in photo). Price: 15.00 BAM

Sis cevapi with salad and fries. Price: 8.00 BAM

Let's move on to fridge magnets and prices that I had bought from shops in the Old Bridge area.

Typical fridge magnet of the infamous Stari Most:

 Price: 1 Euro

Flag and map of Bosnia & Herzegovina:

Price: Flag (EURO 1.00), Map (2.00 EURO)

Are you convinced now that prices in Mostar are relatively cheaper compared to other parts of the Balkans?

(Note: All prices are correct as of September 2017)


Reason #5: Less tourist in Mostar 

If you're travelling into Mostar from tourist hotspots in Croatia like Split and Dubrovnik, Mostar is a breathe of relief as the number of tourist here does not rival the neverending number of tourist in other parts of the Balkans.

To give you an idea of how quiet Mostar is, here's a photo of the main street on a Monday morning when I was walking from Hostel Nina to the bus station to take the bus to Dubrovnik.

No rush hour traffic like in bigger cities.

Although the Old Bridge area may get crowded at times, there'll be times when it's quiet and peaceful, and you'll find yourself having the whole place to yourself.

Half Day Trip to Medjugorje

The story of Medjugorje had intrigued me ever since I read Medjugorje: The Message by Wayne Weible as a teenager on a journey of discovering God's love and the Catholic faith.

So when I was in Bosnia & Herzegovina in September last year, I decided that I must visit Medjugorje to see and experience the little town.

Getting to Medjugorje

I visited Medjugorje on a half day trip from Mostar.

To get from Mostar to Medjugorje, you'll need to take the bus that runs from Mostar to Split in Croatia as it stops at Medjugorje along the way.

Mostar bus station:

The first bus to Split leaves Mostar bus station at 11.00am and takes about an hour to reach Medjugorje. The ticket price is 5 KM.

The last bus from Medjugorje to Mostar is at 2.00pm. Make sure you don't miss this bus or else you would have to take the taxi home and it's not cheap.

If you intend to attend the Sunday Mass in English at St James Church (click here for weekly programme) or spend time in prayer or even hike up Apparition Hill to recite the rosary, then perhaps getting your own transport to Medjugorje would be a wiser option so that you don't have to be at the mercy of the bus times.

The Church of St James

There is only one church in Medjugorje and it's called the Church of St James:

Make sure you adhere to the dress code before entering the church:

Inside the church:

I arrived at the church around 1.00pm and Sunday Mass had already ended by then. This was because I had mistakenly gotten off the bus at a town before Medjugorje, got lost and ended up taking a taxi to Medjugorje. So by the time I arrived at the Church of St James, the 12 noon English Mass had already ended. Nevertheless I still recited a prayer and sat in silence for a while.

On the right wing of the church is the Queen of Peace shrine:

Our Lady had identified herself as Queen of Peace when she appeared to the six children in 1981. Thus, the name of the shrine.

After praying, I came out from the church and started exploring. I saw this signboard about the major areas in the compound:

This is the legend in English:

The afternoon sun was hot and it was soon time for the last bus at 2.00pm from Medjugorje back to Mostar. So I decided not to walk around the church compound to look for the statues and stations of the cross. Instead, I went out from the church compound.

Outside the Church of St James

This is the road in front of the church:

The row of shops in front of the church sells rosaries, holy pictures, statues, scapulars and other religious items by the thousands, and all reasonably priced too. I bought two rosaries and two fridge magnets (of the Virgin Mary and Holy Family) for EUR10.00.

Shopping haven for religious articles. You'll be spoilt for choices.

Beside the Church of St James are hotels for those who wish to stay a night or two:

Getting Out of Medjugorje

The Medjugorje bus station is about 650m from the Church of St James:

Bus station looking so lonely.

There are also taxis to bring you to touristy places like Mostar, Split and Dubrovnik. If you're interested, here's the price list:

Conclusion

I was hoping to experience a surreal experience of Our Lady's message at Medjugorje, but no, I didn' experience anything like that. Maybe because I had spent only an hour in Medjugorje and didn't attend Mass, let alone do the other stuff that pilgrims do like recite the rosary or spend time in prayer. Perhaps my experience would have been different had I spent a longer time in Medjugorje.

At the end of the day, our faith is what we carry in our hearts. We don't need to make pilgrimages thousands of kilometres from home just to experience God's love. His love is found in our everyday lives, in our homes and in our hearts.

Highlights of 2017

1) Visited Japan in June

Covered Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo in that order.

The highlights of the trip was the super expensive Shinkansen train ride from Kyoto to Tokyo and the eye opeing experience of bathing in an onsen completely nude with other women.

 Was happy to see a familiar face (look at the yellow flag) in Dotonbori, Osaka.

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2) Visited Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro in September

That trip was one of the best trips I've had in a long time.

The Balkans is certainly blessed with amazing landscapes, aquamarine waters and awesome weather. It was also relatively easy to travel through these 3 countries.

I think it's kinda cool that they built this basketball court inside the Old City of Dubrovnik in Croatia.

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3) Visited London in September

London was my entry into Europe where I stayed with friends.

It was my second time in London (first trip was in September 2009) and this time I observed the following:

a) The locals are more friendlier. My friend said it's because Great Britain is no longer great after it voted out from the EU. So the locals have been made humble.

b) There were tourists everywhere. Perhaps the weakening of the GBP have enabled more people to visit London.

c) There were many foreign workers from other parts of Europe working in London.

d) London has become dirtier. There were rubbish everywhere. I found food wrappers and paper cups stuffed between shrubs/plants in that little square in front of the Bank of England where the London Troops War Memorial is. I also found chewing gum stuck on the underside of railings.

e) The British Museum and St Paul's Cathedral certainly needs a new coat of paint. Both buildings look rundown from the outside.

Having said all that, I did have a marvellous time in London. Some of the things I did:

- Went to the Bank of England to change an old 50 pound note for a colleague.
- Had dinner at Jamie's Italian restaurant on Threadneedle street.
- Visited the Natural History Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum.
- Went to Bicester Village to get two TOD's bags and two Longchamp bags.

London is a great city and I'll never get tired of visiting it again.

The Natural History Museum in London.

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4) Started participating in runs

- 2017 is the year that I ran my first 10km at the MPI Generali Run on 8 January 2017 to be exact. I've been running 5km all these while, so I thought why not up the game. Fellow running enthusiasts have encouraged me to do a half marathon next, but let's see it goes.

- Emerged 10th place in the 5km Women's Open KL New Year's Day Run

- Emerged 8th place in the 10km Women's Veteran HSN21KM Run on 14 October 2017.

- Participated in 8 runs and 2 bandit runs

- Still trying to do a sub 1 for 10km, best time is 1:04:28

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5) Collected 12 Hard Rock Bottle Openers (City-T Guitar V+)

- Bali Cafe

- Bali Airport

- Hamburg

- Ho Chi Minh City

- Kota Kinabalu

- Lisbon
- London

- Munich

- Osaka
- Podgorica
- Sentosa Singapore

- Tokyo

Didn't expect such a haul but luck was on my side because friends were travelling and I requested them to get the magnets for me.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that Kuala Lumpur finally has changed its bottle opener after having the previous one for ages.

The latest Kuala Lumpur bottle opener.

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May 2018 bring good health, happiness and success to everyone!

Photo was taken at the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest in Kyoto, Japan.

Fridge Magnets from Bosnia & Herzegovina

It's time for a post on the fridge magnets that I had bought from Bosnia Herzegovina, specifically from Mostar because that's the only city in the country that I visited.

For information sake I've included the price of each magnet at the bottom of each photo. Prices are cheaper compared to most other parts of Europe and even in Malaysia (gosh!).

All the magnets were bought from shops in the Old Bridge (Stari Most) area of Mostar.

The customary flag and map of each country that I visit:

Price: Flag (EURO 1.00), Map (EURO 2.00)

Here's a magnet of the Stari Most:

Price: EURO 1.00